HBCU Storyteller Spotlight
Dr. Debra Saunders-White is installed as the 11th chancellor of North Carolina Central University.
“Eagle Excellence” or “E-squared” is the motto of North Carolina Central University‘s 11th Chancellor Debra Saunders-White, a one-time math teacher and IBM systems engineer who was acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education prior to starting at NCCU last June.
In her installation on Friday, April 4, Saunders-White, who was presented with a pewter medallion and the university’s mace, took the oath of office as her mother, son and daughter held the family Bible.
She announced three new initiatives including the creation of a Hip Hop Institute with the aid of NCCU alumnus Patrick “9th Wonder” Douthit and establishing a media lab in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“We ask our students to be fearless. We ask our students to allow their intellectual curiosity to create new thought,” Saunders-White said. “We teach our Eagles the rewards of selflessness and carrying out the values of truth and service throughout their lives.”
